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Yorkshire captain Ballance expects good things from Brathwaite

Former England batsman Gary Ballance has high expectations of West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who joins Yorkshire on September 19 for the final two games of the English County Championship.

Ballance, who captains Yorkshire played against the West Indies two seasons ago when Brathwaite scored a ton against the tourists during their tour of the Caribbean. Then two weeks ago, he saw the Barbadian scored 134 and 95 in consecutive innings as the West Indies pulled off a remarkable five-wicket victory over England at Headingley to draw level in the three-Test series.

“Kraigg’s a good player, a gutsy player. I think that will be good for us, especially in conditions here. He will put a massive price on his wicket. The bowler will have to get him out,” Ballance said. “I played against him in the West Indies and he got runs there as well as a few at Headingley the other week. He’s an international player who has done very well at Test match level.”

Brathwaite will play the final two matches of the season, replacing Australian Shaun Marsh, and Ballance backed the player to make the most of the experience. “It’s so hard to get that calibre of player for a long period of time these days, so it would be nice to have someone like him around for longer,” said Ballance. “Hopefully he will go well like our other overseas players have. From watching him bat and playing against him, I know he’s a quality player. I’m sure he will do a good job for us.”